Date: 1900
Source: Lenin Collection, Volume 27
Pages: 83-86

[VICTOR BÉRARD. "L'ANGLETERRE ET L'IMPÉRIALISME"]

Victor Bérard:
"L'Angleterre et
l'impérialisme". P[aris]
1900. (Pp. [381])

From a survey of it, one can see that this little book represents something in the nature of a collection of newspaper articles: journalism lively, super-lively, but extremely superficial. A narrative, a causerie, nothing more. "Joseph Chamberlain"—the first chapter. Quotations from his speeches, his career, his fame, etc., etc. "Imperialism"—the second chapter (or section: there is neither the name "chapter" nor numbering of them), likewise a "newspaper" little narrative: "Markets, markets," a mass of examples and figures (on the decline of English trade, etc.) from the "Blue Books," but all of it fragmentary, feuilleton-style, and after Hobson and Schulze-Gaevernitz it is something like a high school notebook.... The same about competition from Germany and so on and so forth. Nothing. Nothing.

Perhaps a couple of examples that might, be useful:

From arguments against imperialism:

"These same statistics also show that the occupation of some territory by His Majesty's troops often benefits only foreigners, very little the British subjects: in Egypt, only German and Belgian trade actually grew after 1881: the import of English products into Egypt 1870 — 8,726 thousand £; 1880 — 3,060; 1892 — 3,192; 1897 — 4,435, whereas German imports rose from 21,000 livres (Egyptian = 25 francs 60) in 1886 to 281,000 in 1896, and Belgian imports during the same period rose from 86,000 to 458,000 livres", (p. 249).

"After France invented beet sugar, it became the foremost sugar power in the world: in 1870 it still held the monopoly. Then Germany sets to work. Having examined and compared French cultivation methods, it establishes that, like northern France, it possesses favorable soil and climate in the vicinity of its coal mines. But its soil is less fertile; its climate is considerably harsher. The struggle against the French will therefore be very unequal. Yet from 1882 onwards French sugar producers began to cry out in distress: German sugars penetrate even the French market.... German beet yields 12% of its weight in sugar; French planters declare they cannot exceed 7%"—the Germans transformed agriculture, fertilizers, selection, etc., etc.

"Scarcely twelve years of German competition had passed when France, the inventor of beet sugar, was stripped of the benefit of its invention. Its law of 1884 on sugar was dictated to it by scientific Germany, henceforth queen of sugar and, moreover, queen of alcohol", (p. 311—312).

The book is dated at the end
November 1898 — April 1900.